Los Angeles Kings players and coaches pose for a team photo after defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals at the Staples Center. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US Presswire

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Rich Hammond, a former Los Angeles Daily News hockey writer who wrote for the Los Angeles Kings for the last three years and covered the team during its Stanley Cup title last season, left his position as the L.A. Kings Insider to take a job with the Orange County Register covering USC football and basketball.

But when speaking before a sports business class at USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism on Wednesday night, Hammond revealed that the NHL's interference with one of his stories led to his decision to change jobs.

Hammond posted a story on Sept. 17 with Kings player Kevin Westgarth, who at the time was working with the NHL Players Association during collective bargaining agreement talks. Hammond, as a reporter and not a public relations writer, provided opinions about both sides of the negotiations.

"The league wanted the story taken down," Hammond told the Daily News. "Technically, they were saying that as a teamemployee, I had to abide by their rules of not discussing the lockout."

Hammond expressed his concern in maintaining the integrity of the Kings blog with such restrictions considering he was promised a level of editorial freedom when he became the Kings' writer.

In Hammond's farewell post, he said "the Kings in no way pushed or encouraged me to leave."

But did the NHL's interference do so?

Hammond told the USC class that he "was not totally convinced the Kings could make (this situation) have a good ending."

During his time doing the blog, Hammond wrote about Dean Lombardi's angry response to a disputed goal that caused the Kings general manager to be fined $50,000 for questioning the league's integrity. He also did a video breakdown that showed New Jersey Devils winger Patrik Elias took the puck that was on the ice when the Kings clinched their title.

NHL spokesman Jamey Horan did not elaborate on the circumstances of the Hammond-Westgarth blog post, saying only:

"Rich did a great job covering the Kings -- especially during their amazing run to win the 2012 Stanley Cup. We wish him continued success in his new role."